European Council

While the European Council has no legislative power, it is a strategic (and crisis-solving) body that provides the union with general political directions and priorities, and acts as a collective presidency. The European Commission remains the sole initiator of legislation, but the European Council is able to provide an impetus to guide legislative policy.[2][3]

The meetings of the European Council, still commonly referred to as EU summits, are chaired by its president and take place at least twice every six months;[1] usually in the Europa building in Brussels.[4][5] Decisions of the European Council are taken by consensus, except where the Treaties provide otherwise.[6]

The European Council officially gained the status of an EU institution after the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007, distinct from the Council of the European Union (Council of Ministers). Before that, the first summits of EU heads of state or government were held in February and July 1961 (in Paris and Bonn respectively). They were informal summits of the leaders of the European Community, and were started due to then-French President Charles de Gaulle's resentment at the domination of supranational institutions (notably the European Commission) over the integration process, but petered out. The first influential summit held, after the departure of de Gaulle, was the Hague summit of 1969, which reached an agreement on the admittance of the United Kingdom into the Community and initiated foreign policy cooperation (the European Political Cooperation) taking integration beyond economics.[1][7]

A traditional group photo, here taken at the royal palace in Brussels during Belgium's 1987 presidency of the Council of the European Union

The summits were only formalised in the period between 1974 and 1988. At the December summit in Paris in 1974, following a proposal from then-French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, it was agreed that more high level, political input was needed following the "empty chair crisis" and economic problems.[8] The inaugural European Council, as it became known, was held in Dublin on 10 and 11 March 1975 during Ireland's first Presidency of the Council of Ministers. In 1987, it was included in the treaties for the first time (the Single European Act) and had a defined role for the first time in the Maastricht Treaty. At first only a minimum of two meetings per year were required, which resulted in an average of three meetings per year being held for the 1975–1995 period. Since 1996, the number of meetings were required to be minimum four per year. For the latest 2008–2014 period, this minimum was well exceeded, by an average of seven meetings being held per year. The seat of the Council was formalised in 2002, basing it in Brussels. Three types of European Councils exist: Informal, Scheduled and Extraordinary. While the informal meetings are also scheduled 1½ years in advance, they differ from the scheduled ordinary meetings by not ending with official Council conclusions, as they instead end by more broad political Statements on some cherry picked policy matters. The extraordinary meetings always end with official Council conclusions - but differs from the scheduled meetings by not being scheduled more than a year in advance, as for example in 2001 when the European Council gathered to lead the European Union's response to the 11 September attacks.[1][7]

Some meetings of the European Council—and, before the European Council was formalised, meetings of the heads of government—are seen by some as turning points in the history of the European Union. For example:[1]

• 1969, The Hague: Foreign policy and enlargement.
• 1974, Paris: Creation of the council.
• 1985, Milan: Initiate IGC leading to the Single European Act.

Press conference with European Commissioner Jacques Delors and Dutch ministers Wim Kok, Hans van den Broek and Ruud Lubbers, after the European Council of 9–10 December 1991 in Maastricht, which led to the Maastricht Treaty (1992)

• 1991, Maastricht: Agreement on the Maastricht Treaty.
• 1992, Edinburgh: Agreement (by treaty provision) to retain at Strasbourg the plenary seat of the European Parliament.
• 1993, Copenhagen: Leading to the definition of the Copenhagen Criteria.
• 1997, Amsterdam: Agreement on the Amsterdam Treaty.
• 1998, Brussels: Selected member states to adopt the euro.
• 1999; Cologne: Declaration on military forces.[9]
• 1999, Tampere: Institutional reform
• 2000, Lisbon: Lisbon Strategy
• 2002, Copenhagen: Agreement for May 2004 enlargement.
• 2007, Lisbon: Agreement on the Lisbon Treaty.
• 2009, Brussels: Appointment of first president and merged High Representative.
• 2010, European Financial Stability Facility

As such, the European Council had already existed before it gained the status as an institution of the European Union with the entering into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, but even after it had been mentioned in the treaties (since the Single European Act) it could only take political decisions, not formal legal acts. However, when necessary, the Heads of State or Government could also meet as the Council of Ministers and take formal decisions in that role. Sometimes, this was even compulsory, e.g. Article 214(2) of the Treaty establishing the European Community provided (before it was amended by the Treaty of Lisbon) that ‘the Council, meeting in the composition of Heads of State or Government and acting by a qualified majority, shall nominate the person it intends to appoint as President of the Commission’ (emphasis added); the same rule applied in some monetary policy provisions introduced by the Maastricht Treaty (e.g. Article 109j TEC). In that case, what was politically part of a European Council meeting was legally a meeting of the Council of Ministers. When the European Council, already introduced into the treaties by the Single European Act, became an institution by virtue of the Treaty of Lisbon, this was no longer necessary, and the "Council [of the European Union] meeting in the composition of the Heads of State or Government", was replaced in these instances by the European Council now taking formal legally binding decisions in these cases (Article 15 of the Treaty on European Union).[10]

The Treaty of Lisbon made the European Council a formal institution distinct from the (ordinary) Council of the EU, and created the present longer term and full-time presidency. As an outgrowth of the Council of the EU, the European Council had previously followed the same Presidency, rotating between each member state. While the Council of the EU retains that system, the European Council established, with no change in powers, a system of appointing an individual (without them being a national leader) for a two-and-a-half-year term—which can be renewed for the same person only once.[11] Following the ratification of the treaty in December 2009, the European Council elected the then-Prime Minister of Belgium Herman Van Rompuy as its first permanent president (resigning from Belgian Prime Minister).[12]

The European Council is an official institution of the EU, described in the Lisbon Treaty as a body which "shall provide the Union with the necessary impetus for its development". Essentially it defines the EU's policy agenda and has thus been considered to be the motor of European integration.[1] Beyond the need to provide "impetus", the council has developed further roles: to "settle issues outstanding from discussions at a lower level", to lead in foreign policy — acting externally as a "collective Head of State", "formal ratification of important documents" and "involvement in the negotiation of the treaty changes".[4][7]

Since the institution is composed of national leaders, it gathers the executive power of the member states and has thus a great influence in high-profile policy areas as for example foreign policy. It also exercises powers of appointment, such as appointment of its own President, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and the President of the European Central Bank. It proposes, to the European Parliament, a candidate for President of the European Commission. Moreover, the European Council influences police and justice planning, the composition of the commission, matters relating to the organisation of the rotating Council presidency, the suspension of membership rights, and changing the voting systems through the Passerelle Clause. Although the European Council has no direct legislative power, under the "emergency brake" procedure, a state outvoted in the Council of Ministers may refer contentious legislation to the European Council. However, the state may still be outvoted in the European Council.[11][13][14] Hence with powers over the supranational executive of the EU, in addition to its other powers, the European Council has been described by some as the Union's "supreme political authority".[4][7][11][15]

The European Council consists of the heads of state or government of the member states, alongside its own President and the Commission President (both non-voting). The meetings used to be regularly attended by the national foreign minister as well, and the Commission President likewise accompanied by another member of the commission. However, since the Treaty of Lisbon, this has been discontinued, as the size of the body had become somewhat large following successive accessions of new Member States to the Union.[1][4] Meetings can also include other invitees, such as the President of the European Central Bank, as required. The Secretary-General of the Council attends, and is responsible for organisational matters, including minutes. The President of the European Parliament also attends to give an opening speech outlining the European Parliament's position before talks begin.[1][4]

Additionally, the negotiations involve a large number of other people working behind the scenes. Most of those people, however, are not allowed to the conference room, except for two delegates per state to relay messages. At the push of a button members can also call for advice from a Permanent Representative via the "Antici Group" in an adjacent room. The group is composed of diplomats and assistants who convey information and requests. Interpreters are also required for meetings as members are permitted to speak in their own languages.[1]

As the composition is not precisely defined, some states which have a considerable division of executive power can find it difficult to decide who should attend the meetings. While an MEP, Alexander Stubb argued that there was no need for the President of Finland to attend Council meetings with or instead of the Prime Minister of Finland (who was head of European foreign policy).[16] In 2008, having become Finnish Foreign Minister, Stubb was forced out of the Finnish delegation to the emergency council meeting on the Georgian crisis because the President wanted to attend the high-profile summit as well as the Prime Minister (only two people from each country could attend the meetings). This was despite Stubb being Chair-in-Office of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe at the time which was heavily involved in the crisis. Problems also occurred in Poland where the President of Poland and the Prime Minister of Poland were of different parties and had a different foreign policy response to the crisis.[17] A similar situation arose in Romania between President Traian Băsescu and Prime Minister Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu in 2007–2008 and again in 2012 with Prime Minister Victor Ponta, who both opposed the president.

Members

European Council
Member	Representative		Member	Representative		Member	Representative
European Union (non-voting) – Member since 1 December 2019 – Previous membership: Prime Minister of Belgium 2014–2019 – Election: 2019, 2022 Next: 2024		President of the European Council Charles Michel (Renew)	European Union (non-voting) – Member since 1 December 2019 – Election: 2019 Next: 2024		President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen (EPP)	Kingdom of Belgium België/Belgique/Belgien[a 1] (2.58% of population)[a 2] – Member since 1 October 2020 – Next: 2024		Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Renew – Open Vld)
Republic of Bulgaria България/Bulgaria (1.55% of population) – Member since 22 January 2017 – Election: 2021 Next: 2026		President Rumen Radev (Ind. – Ind.)	Czech Republic Česko (2.36% of population) – Member since 17 December 2021 – Election: 2021 Next: 2025		Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ECR – ODS)	Kingdom of Denmark Danmark (1.30% of population) – Member since 27 June 2019 – Election: 2019 Next: 2022		Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (S&D – S)
Federal Republic of Germany Deutschland (18.57% of population) – Member since 8 December 2021 – Election: 2021 Next: 2025		Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (S&D – SPD)	Republic of Estonia Eesti (0.30% of population) – Member since 26 January 2021 – Next: 2023		Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Renew – ER)	Ireland Éire/Ireland (1.12% of population) – Member since 27 June 2020 – Election: 2020 Next: 2025		Taoiseach Micheál Martin (Renew – FF)
Hellenic Republic Ελλάδα/Elláda (2.39% of population) – Member since 8 July 2019 – Election: 2019 Next: 2023		Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (EPP – ND)	Kingdom of Spain España (10.59% of population) – Member since 2 June 2018 – Election: 2019, 2019 Next: 2023		Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (S&D – PSOE)	French Republic France (15.07% of population) – Member since 14 May 2017 – Election: 2017, 2022 Next: 2027		President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron (Renew – RE)
Republic of Croatia Hrvatska (0.90% of population) – Member since 19 October 2016 – Election: 2016, 2020 Next: 2024		Prime Minister Andrej Plenković (EPP – HDZ)	Italian Republic Italia (13.38% of population) – Member since 22 October 2022 – Election: 2022 Next: 2027		Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (ECR – FdI)	Republic of Cyprus Κύπρος/Kýpros (0.20% of population) – Member since 28 February 2013 – Election: 2013, 2018 Next: 2023		President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades (EPP – DISY)
Republic of Latvia Latvija (0.42% of population) – Member since 23 January 2019 – Election: 2018, 2022 Next: 2026		Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš (EPP – V)	Republic of Lithuania Lietuva (0.62% of population) – Member since 12 July 2019 – Election: 2019 Next: 2024		President of the Republic Gitanas Nausėda (Ind. – Ind.)	Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Luxembourg (0.14% of population) – Member since 4 December 2013 – Election: 2013, 2018 Next: 2023		Prime Minister Xavier Bettel (Renew – DP)
Hungary Magyarország (2.17% of population) – Member since 29 May 2010 – Election: 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 Next: 2026		Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (Ind. – Fidesz)	Republic of Malta Malta (0.12% of population) – Member since 13 January 2020 – Election: 2022 Next: 2027		Prime Minister Robert Abela (S&D – PL)	Kingdom of the Netherlands Nederland (3.94% of population) – Member since 14 October 2010 – Election: 2010, 2012, 2017, 2021 Next: 2025		Prime Minister Mark Rutte (Renew – VVD)
Republic of Austria Österreich (1.99% of population) – Member since 6 December 2021 – Next: 2023		Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer (EPP – ÖVP)	Republic of Poland Polska (8.45% of population) – Member since 11 December 2017 – Election: 2019 Next: 2023		Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (ECR – PiS)	Portuguese Republic Portugal (2.30% of population) – Member since 26 November 2015 – Election: 2019, 2022 Next: 2026		Prime Minister António Costa (S&D – PS)
Romania România (4.29% of population) – Member since 21 December 2014 – Election: 2014, 2019 Next: 2024		President Klaus Iohannis (EPP – PNL[a 3] )	Republic of Slovenia Slovenija (0.47% of population) – Member since 1 June 2022 – Election: 2022 Next: 2026		Prime Minister Robert Golob (Renew – GS)	Slovak Republic Slovensko (1.22% of population) – Member since 1 April 2021 – Next: 2024		Prime Minister Eduard Heger (EPP – OĽANO)
Republic of Finland Suomi/Finland (1.24% of population) – Member since 10 December 2019 – Next: 2023		Prime Minister Sanna Marin (S&D – SDP)	Kingdom of Sweden Sverige (2.32% of population) – Member since 18 October 2022 – Election: 2022 Next: 2026		Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (EPP – M)

Notes

1. Short names used within EU institutions.
2. Used in the calculation of the qualified majority voting. The share of the total population is based on the decision of the Council of the European Union on Member States populations for 2022
3. Membership in PNL suspended while holding the office of the president.

Also partially or fully attending, but not members

President of the European Parliament			High Representative of the Union
European Union – Position held since 18 January 2022 – Election: 2022 Next: 2024		President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola (EPP)	European Union – Position held since 1 December 2019 – Election: 2019 Next: 2024		High Representative of the Union Josep Borrell (S&D)

Political alliances

European political affiliation of the current members of the European Council

Almost all members of the European Council are members of a political party at national level, and most of these are also members of a political party at European level or other alliances such as Renew Europe. These frequently hold pre-meetings of their European Council members, prior to its meetings. However, the European Council is composed to represent the EU's states rather than political alliances and decisions are generally made on these lines, though ideological alignment can colour their political agreements and their choice of appointments (such as their president).

The charts below outline the number of leaders affiliated to each alliance and their total voting weight. The map indicates the alignment of each individual country.

Number of members[19] EPP   8 (29.6%) Renew   7 (25.9%) S&D   6 (22.2%) ECR   3 (11.1%) Ind.   3 (11.1%)

Share of population S&D         34.1% ECR   24.2% Renew   23.6% EPP   13.7% Ind.   4.3%

Members timeline

The European Council is required by Article 15.3 TEU to meet at least twice every six months, but convenes more frequently in practice.[20][21] Despite efforts to contain business, meetings typically last for at least two days, and run long into the night.[21]

Until 2002, the venue for European Council summits was the member state that held the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union. However, European leaders agreed during ratification of the Nice Treaty to forego this arrangement at such a time as the total membership of the European Union surpassed 18 member states.[22] An advanced implementation of this agreement occurred in 2002, with certain states agreeing to waive their right to host meetings, favouring Brussels as the location.[23] Following the growth of the EU to 25 member states, with the 2004 enlargement, all subsequent official summits of the European Council have been in Brussels, with the exception of punctuated ad hoc meetings, such as the 2017 informal European Council in Malta.[24] The logistical, environmental, financial and security arrangements of hosting large summits are usually cited as the primary factors in the decision by EU leaders to move towards a permanent seat for the European Council.[7] Additionally, some scholars argue that the move, when coupled with the formalisation of the European Council in the Lisbon Treaty, represents an institutionalisation of an ad hoc EU organ that had its origins in Luxembourg compromise, with national leaders reasserting their dominance as the EU's "supreme political authority".[7]

Originally, both the European Council and the Council of the European Union utilised the Justus Lipsius building as their Brussels venue. In order to make room for additional meeting space a number of renovations were made, including the conversion of an underground carpark into additional press briefing rooms.[25] However, in 2004 leaders decided the logistical problems created by the outdated facilities warranted the construction of a new purpose built seat able to cope with the nearly 6,000 meetings, working groups, and summits per year.[5] This resulted in the Europa building, which opened its doors in 2017. The focal point of the new building, the distinctive multi-storey "lantern-shaped" structure in which the main meeting room is located, is utilised in both the European Council's and Council of the European Union's official logos.[26]

The EU command and control (C2) structure is directed by political bodies composed of member states' representatives, and generally requires unanimous decisions. As of April 2019:[27]

Liaison:       Advice and recommendations       Support and monitoring       Preparatory work     

Political strategic level:[5]

ISS

EUCO Pres. (EUCO)

Chain of command

Coordination/support

SatCen

CIVCOM

HR/VP (FAC)

INTCEN

HR/VP (PMG)

HR/VP (PSC)[6]

CEUMC (EUMC)

CMPD

DGEUMS[3] (EUMS)

Military/civilian strategic level:

Dir MPCC[3] (MPCC)

JSCC

Civ OpCdr CPCC[1]

Operational level:

MFCdr[4] (MFHQ)

HoM[1]

Tactical level:

CC[2] Land

CC[2] Air

CC[2] Mar

Other CCs[2]

Forces

Forces

Forces

Forces

¹ In the event of a CSDP Civilian Mission also being in the field, the relations with the Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC) and its Civilian Operation Commander (Civ OpCdr), as well as the subordinate Head of Mission (HoM), are coordinated as shown.

² Other Component Commanders (CCs) and service branches which may be established.

³ The MPCC is part of the EUMS and Dir MPCC is double-hatted as DGEUMS. Unless the MPCC is used as Operation Headquarters (OHQ), either a national OHQ offered by member states or the NATO Command Structure (NCS) would serve this purpose. In the latter instance, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (DSACEUR), rather than Dir MPCC, would serve as Operation Commander (OpCdr).

⁴ Unless the MPCC is used as Operation Headquarters (OHQ), the MFCdr would be known as a Force Commander (FCdr), and direct a Force Headquarters (FHQ) rather than a MFHQ. Whereas the MFHQ would act both on the operational and tactical level, the FHQ would act purely on the operational level.

⁵ The political strategic level is not part of the C2 structure per se, but represents the political bodies, with associated support facilities, that determine the missions' general direction. The Council determines the role of the High Representative (HR/VP), who serves as Vice-President of the European Commission, attends European Council meetings, chairs the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) and may chair the Political and Security Committee (PSC) in times of crisis. The HR/VP proposes and implements CSDP decisions.

⁶ Same composition as Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) II, which also prepares for the CSDP-related work of the FAC.

• Laeken indicators
• Euro summit
• Presidency of the Council of the European Union
• List of members of the European Council

• Wessels, Wolfgang (2016). The European Council. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0333587461.

• Official website
• Access to documents of the European Council on EUR-Lex
• Archive of European Integration – Summit Guide
• European Council Collection of documents - CVCE
• Reflection Group established by the European Council
• EU Council: Relations with EaP region of strategic importance